Nanodevices are structures having dimensions measured in nanometers. Nanotechnology is a field associated with formation of nanodevices, and is a growing field expected to make significant impacts in diverse subject areas, including, for example, biology, chemistry, computer science and electronics.
Nanodevices include, for example, quantum dots and nanowires. A quantum dot is a particle of matter in which addition or removal of an electron changes its properties in some useful way. A nanowire is a thin filament having a width less than or equal to about 200 angstroms, and frequently less than or equal to about 50 angstroms.
Quantum dots and nanowires can have numerous applications. For instance, quantum dots and nanowires can significantly increase the density of electronic devices, which can increase performance of the devices. Quantum dots may be particularly useful in high-density memory and storage media. Specifically, a quantum dot can be incorporated into data storage devices. If the position of an electron within a quantum dot changes a state of the dot, the quantum dot can represent a byte of data.
Although various techniques have been developed for forming nanodevices, there remains a need to develop methodologies which can enable large-scale fabrication of the devices. Accordingly, it is desirable to develop new techniques for fabrication of nanodevices.